Heated debate in Kerala Assembly over lack of equipment in medical college hospitals
Citing the Expert Committee report, Veena George added that equipment purchases for the urology department alone amounted to ₹26.9 lakh between 2011 and 2016.
Citing the Expert Committee report, Veena George added that equipment purchases for the urology department alone amounted to ₹26.9 lakh between 2011 and 2016.
Citing the Expert Committee report, Veena George added that equipment purchases for the urology department alone amounted to ₹26.9 lakh between 2011 and 2016.
Thiruvananthapuram: Patients at medical college hospitals (MCH) in Kerala are being forced to buy even basic items for their treatment, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan alleged in the Assembly on Tuesday, sparking heated exchanges over the deteriorating state of public healthcare.
Raising the issue flagged by Dr Haris Chirakkal, head of the Urology Department at Thiruvananthapuram MCH, Satheesan said that people approaching medical colleges under the Karunya scheme were compelled to purchase equipment and essentials such as cotton and needles. “Doctors and department heads have raised this as a matter of serious gravity,” he said, accusing the government of allowing public hospitals to decline, thereby driving patients towards private facilities.
Health Minister Veena George, however, defended the government’s record, stating that ₹1,498 crore has been spent under the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi to provide free treatment for deserving patients. She said that during the UDF government’s tenure from 2011 to 2016, only ₹15.64 crore was spent, while the first Pinarayi Vijayan government allocated ₹41.84 crore and the second term, including KIIFB funds, provided ₹80.66 crore.
Citing the Expert Committee report, Veena George added that equipment purchases for the urology department alone amounted to ₹26.9 lakh between 2011 and 2016, rising to ₹1.43 crore between 2018 and 2022, and ₹1.12 crore from 2022 to 2024.
Satheesan dismissed the minister’s defence, asking, “How can the minister compare finances from ten years ago? If comparisons are to be made, let her go back to the EMS era when even an X-ray machine was unavailable.”
Dr Haris had recently spoken publicly about the shortage of equipment and the resulting postponement of surgeries at the hospital. His remarks drew the ire of the government, which subsequently set up an expert committee to probe the complaints and issued him a show-cause notice. He also faced criticism over what the medical college principal and superintendent described as “missing” equipment.